Wire stretching tool



April 11, 1950 F. F. RlTcHlE WIRE STRETCHING TOOL Filed June 3, l194e 1FL/IVD 1:." -/TEH/E 33M g/e/lnaM-Q Qim- Patented Apr. l1, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEv 2,503,634 WIRE STRETCHING 'rooL Floyd F. Ritchie, Jackson, Mich.

Application June 3, 1946, Serial No. 674,111

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in devices for facilitating the stretching and repair of fences and the like, being especially adapted to stretching and repair of single strands of wire and particularly barbed wire.

According to the present invention, a simple, effective tool has been provided which is so designed as to materially facilitate the stretching and splicing of single strands of wire. In localities where barbed wire fences are extensively used, it is often necessary to cut the fences to permit livestock to pass through where gates have not been provided. Also, livestock and other objects will frequently cause breakage of the strands which have to be retensioned and spliced Although principally designed for the tightening and splicing of single-strand Wire, the tool hereinafter disclosed can be used to advantage as a tightener where installing woven wire and other standard forms of fencing.

Thus, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide stretching and splicing tools of the class described of improved construction and design.

Another object is to provide an inexpensive tool of the type described which may be employed by one person for tensioning and splicing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a single wire fence tightener and splicing tool with a pair of arms having their fulcrum point disposed to one side of the line of operation, with clearance between the arms to facilitate splicing with the tool fully contracted.

These and other objects and advantages residing in the specific construction, arrangement and combination of the component parts will more fully appear from the following specification and the appended claim.

In the drawings,

Fig. I is a plan view showing the arms extended and engaging the ends of the broken strand of barbed wire,

Fig. II is a view similar to Fig. I showing the arms retracted and the wire spliced, and

Fig. III is a perspective view of the main cast body.

Referring to the drawings, the combination tightening and splicing tool in its illustrated form comprises the main cast body I having a tubular portion I2, in which the internally threaded piston I4 is supported for axial movement in opposite directions under the influence of the threaded shaft I6 rotatable through the handle I8.

The arms 20 and 22 are pivotally connected to the upper end of the piston I4 through a pin 24.

to form a diverging slot 26 in which the arms 20 and 22 operate. Dened at the extremities of the slot 26 are integral fulcrums 28. By comparing Figs. I and II it will be observed that as the piston I4 is moved in and out through rotation of threaded shaft I6 the arms 22 will slide along the surface of the fulcrums 28. With this arrangement the mechanical advantage is progressively increased as the arms are retracted. Accordingly, the greatest mechanical advantage takes place at the time when maximum load is being exerted by the arms 20 and 22, namely, when the Wire strands 30 and 32 are fully tensioned and are ready to have the ends 34 and 38 spliced.

Swiveled in the eyes 38 at the outer ends of the arms 20 and 22 are conventional gripping devices 40 and 42 provided with projections 44 across which the wire extends and is clamped by a serrated eccentric member 46 pivoted at 48 and having an integral actuating member 50. For example, any tension on the wire strands 30 will tend to rotate the eccentric 46 clockwise to more rmly grip the wire between the eccentric 46 and the projection 44. The member 44 is provided with an integral hook portion 52 to engage with a chain or other member that might be anchored to a post or a tree where the device is to be used to stretch a single wire strand or woven fence in lieu of the combination stretching and splicing operation illustrated in Figs. I and II.

In Fig. I the piston I4 is located in the outermost position elevating the pivot pin 24 to the position indicated in Fig. I, which projects the arms 20 and 22 into their fully extended position. In this position, the ends 34 and 36 of the strands 30 and 32 are gripped in the members 40 and 42. Then by rotating the handle I8, the piston I4 is withdrawn into the tubular portion I2 and the fulcrums 28 cause the arms 20 and 22 to be drawn inwardly toward one another. In Fig. II the arms are shown in their innermost contracted position and it will be noted that the arms 2n and 22 are so shaped and their relation to the main body Ill is such that there is a clearance provided between the arms 20 and 22 for securing the ends 34 and 36 to form a splice 54. From this it will be fully appreciated by those skilled in the art that the device herein disclosed is very suitable but only as a general purpose stretching or tensioning device but is specically designed for the repair of single-strand wires by making it possible to tension severed ends and splice the same together in a fully tensioned position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to be covered by Letters Patent is:

A combination wire stretching and splicing tool comprising a pair of elongated arms, means on the outer ends of said arms for engaging the wire ends to be pulled together and spliced, means pivotally oonnectngithe inner ends of :said arms to form an expansible and contractble V, a main body including a tubular handle portion, means located in said body for movement along a line bisecting said V and attached to saidgconnectn'g means including engaging threaded nut and shaft structure, a crank for rotating saidfs'haft structure to move said arms relative .to saidbody, slot portions dened integrally with and converging into said body in which the inner ends ofsaid arms operate, fulcrum means at the extremities offsaidslotszalongvwhich thef'outeredges of said 4 arms engage and slide intermediate the ends thereof to expand and contract said V upon movement of said connecting means along said line.

FLOYD F. RITCHIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STA'IES- 'PATENTS.

Number Name Date '371,792 Sabourin Oct. 18, 1887 1,017,147 Hall Feb. 13, 1912 1,276,702 Anderson Aug. 27, 1918 y1,929,026 .Marcil Oct. 3, 1933 2,243,517 Adamson May 27, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,717, Sweden Mar. 28, 1891 

